The three-member UN Commission of Inquiry led by retired Australian judge Michael Kirby concluded as per evidence that North Korea conducted an array of crimes against humanity, and will formally turn its findings over to the International Criminal Court, said an anonymous source who had been briefed of the conclusions of the commission report.
A ship from Cuba to North Korea, detained by Panama after it was found to hold undeclared military cargo, contained the fuselages of two Soviet-era fighter planes. The planes and other military items were hidden under bags of sugar and were being sent to North Korea for repairs.
Panama detained a North a North Korean-flagged ship headed to the Panama Canal from Cuba and said Tuesday it was carrying suspected missile equipment hidden under tons of brown sugar, in which the ship's captain tried to commit suicide.
The United States deployed stealth fighter jets to South Korea on Sunday as part of an ongoing joint military exercises between the two countries. The F-22 Raptors were sent to the main U.S. Air Force Base in South Korea amid rising tension - and bellicose language- from Kim Jong-un in the North.
North Korea said on Tuesday it has moved strategic rocket and artillery units into top combat position in preparation for a strike against the United States.
The Pentagon announced on Friday that it will spend $1 billion to add 14 interceptors to a West-Coast-based missile-defense system, responding to what It called "faster-than-anticipated North Korean progress on nuclear weapons and missiles."
Since North Korea conducted underground nuclear tests on February 12, the international community has taken renewed interest - and consternation- by their bellicose actions. These tests prompted the United Nations Security Council to order harsher sanctions against the already isolated country. In return, North Korea has threatened the U.S., and its allies "all out war."
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously for new and tougher sanctions against North Korea, demonstrating unified anger at the Asian country for its recent harsh rhetoric against its enemies, possibly threatening "preemptive nuclear attack."
